Court Allows Live Broadcast of First-Trial Verdict for Kim Keon Hee in ‘Deutsche Stock Manipulation’ Case

[Financial News] The court has approved a live broadcast of the first-trial verdict for First Lady Kim Keon Hee, who faces charges related to alleged stock manipulation involving Deutsche Motors and other accusations.
According to legal sources on the 27th, Criminal Division 27 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Insung Woo, has allowed a live broadcast of the first-trial sentencing hearing scheduled for the 28th in a case involving Kim, including alleged violations of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA).
Prosecutors allege that from October 2010 to December 2012, Kim conspired with former Deutsche Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo, former Black Pearl Investment CEO Jongho Lee, and others to carry out a stock-manipulation scheme, obtaining approximately 810 million won in illicit gains. She is also accused of having received around 270 million won worth of opinion polls free of charge from Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 20th South Korean Presidential Election in 2022, and of accepting Chanel bags and other valuables worth around 80 million won from Geonjin Beopsa Jeon Seong-bae.
The Kim Keon Hee Special Prosecutor Team, led by Special Counsel Min Joong-ki, which indicted Kim, has asked the court to sentence her to a total of 15 years in prison, impose a fine of 2 billion won, and order 948.64 billion won in forfeiture. Explaining the basis for its sentencing recommendation, the team stated, "In the years since the Deutsche Motors stock-manipulation scheme, all of the co-conspirators have stood before the court, yet the defendant alone has been an exception," and added, "As everyone in the Republic of Korea (ROK) has been watching in dismay in recent days, the defendant has undermined the judicial system."
theknight@fnnews.com Jeong Kyung-soo Reporter